More than 80 Leaders Join National Transportation Conference at Ohio State

More than 80 business, government and nonprofit leaders from all sectors of the transportation industry will speak at Moving Ahead 2010, a national dialogue on sustainable transportation held at The Ohio State University May 2-4.

Seeded by the Jon and Susan Diamond Family Foundation, Moving Ahead 2010 now includes Honda of America as a presenting sponsor and Grist, considered the most recognizable voice in environmental journalism, as a media sponsor. Moving Ahead 2010 is co-hosted by Ohio State and Clean Fuels Ohio.

“We are delighted to convene one of the most comprehensive and in-depth groups of thought leaders in the transportation industry to guide this event,” said Ohio State College of Engineering Interim Dean Gregory Washington. “We know America’s future depends upon thoughtful strategies for safe, reliable transportation to reduce our petroleum dependence and promote our economic independence. Participants at Moving Ahead will gain fresh insights and inspiration into where America and the world will go next.”

Featured speakers include:

• Geoff Anderson, President and CEO, Smart Growth America
• Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
• Robin Chase, CEO, GoLoco and Meadow Networks
• Elizabeth Fretheim, Director, Business Strategy & Sustainability for Logistics, Walmart
• Kate Gordon, Vice President for Energy Policy, Center for American Progress
• Britta Gross, Director, Global Energy Systems and Infrastructure Commercialization, General Motors
• Dr. Robert Hirsch, Senior Energy Advisor, Management Information Services, Inc.
• Anne Korin, Chair, Set America Free Coalition, and Co-director, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security
• Bob Lee, Vice President, Engine and Electrified Propulsion Systems, Chrysler Group LLC
• Robert Martínez, Vice President, Business Development, Norfolk Southern
• John Mendel, Executive Vice President, American Honda Motor Company Inc.
• Jolene Molitoris, Director, Ohio Department of Transportation
• Tom Murphy, Senior Resident Fellow, Urban Land Institute
• Simon Pickup, Director of Business Operations, Airbus Americas Sales Inc.
• David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary for Policy and Energy, International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy
• John Viera, Director, Sustainability and Environmental Policy, Ford Motor Company
• John Waters, CEO, Bright Automotive

Other event sponsors include: Abrasive Technology; American Electric Power; CSX Transportation; Honda of America Partnership; Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET); Propane Education and
Research Council; and the Transportation Research Center. Within Ohio State, sponsors range from the colleges of business, food/agriculture/ environmental science and engineering to the Office of Research and Institute for Energy and the Environment.

“It is very appropriate that Ohio facilitates this substantive discussion on sustainable transportation,” said Sam Spofforth, executive director of Clean Fuels Ohio. “Ohio has emerged as one of the top five states in creation of green energy jobs, even as we struggle to recover from the loss of manufacturing-related employment. With the help of world class research and development institutions like Ohio State, this is a state that must strive to be at the forefront of transportation innovation.”

Some of the key questions to be explored at Moving Ahead 2010 are:

• The U.S., Europe or Asia – who wins the transportation race?
• Can clean vehicles save the U.S. auto and truck industry?
• Biofuels, natural gas, electricity, hydrogen…. What’s safe, what’s risky and what sells?

The complete agenda of activities can be viewed here

Moving Ahead 2010 will take place in the Ohio Union Conference Center on the campus of the Ohio State University. A top-10 national public research university, Ohio State ranks second in industry-sponsored research and is home to one of the nation’s oldest and most successful transportation research centers. The university has an unmatched ability to conduct comprehensive energy and environmental research drawing upon more than 300 researchers from the colleges of engineering; food, agriculture and environmental sciences; and arts and sciences. Ohio was identified as one of the nation’s top new energy job-creating states in a recent study by Pew Charitable Trust.

Contact:

Kate Bartter

Gina Langen - (614) 688-4423